MILF rebels set free kin arrested for illegal guns

COTABATO CITY, Philippines   â€“ Moro rebels on Wednesday flagged down a police convoy along a secluded stretch of the Narciso Ramos Highway in Balindong, Lanao del Sur and set free their relatives who were arrested the previous day for illegal possession of firearms.

Chief Superintendent Noel de los Reyes, Auto-nomous Region in Muslim Mindanao police director, said a local band of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas was behind the incident, which occurred as police were bringing the inmates to the provincial jail in Marawi City.

The MILF rebels took the firearms of the policemen before fleeing with their relatives, who were caught carrying firearms at a checkpoint in Picong, a coastal town in the second district of Lanao del Sur, on Tuesday, he said.

De los Reyes has asked the government-MILF ceasefire committee to investigate the incident and work out the return of the government-owned firearms that the rebels carted away.

“We have put our pursuit operations on hold to enable the ceasefire mechanisms to work freely to resolve this case,” he said.

De los Reyes appealed to the MILF leadership to censure the guerrillas behind the incident.

“It is the work of policemen to arrest people carrying guns without proper authorization from the government,” he said.

Last year, MILF rebels also set free a detained relative from the Marawi City police headquarters and even snatched the city police chief who they used as shield to prevent soldiers and policemen from pursuing them.

The rebels gunned down the police chief’s brother-in-law who was at the precinct when they barged in.

The police officer was freed without any ransom about 10 hours later through the intercession of local officials, among them Marawi City Mayor Fahad Salic and Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr.